2021 Update (originally posted in 2018): If you are at all up on things in the YA book world in 2021 you know that we are SO close to the final film adaptation of this series and I couldn’t be more excited so I decided to add a few more books to the list.
Having loved the books so much I was nervous about it being adapted initially but they have proven to be charming and I have zero doubts this one will be too. So I thought I’d share some books for fans of To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before while you are patiently waiting (and then to fill the void)!
One of my friends, who is NOT a reader of contemporary YA or anything remotely romcom-y, had seen my IG stories about watching the movie and she decided to watch it that same night and I got a string of texts about her cold, dark heart had melted and she wanted to not only read the series but she wanted to know what other feel good YA books were out there — especially books like to To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han.
Firstly, I was so happy that she’s going to read them and wants more book recs because I am happy to give them. But secondly, it made me think about how undervalued happy-making contemporary YA’s are.
When I watched the movie, it was exactly what my heart needed. Just like when I read the books.
Most of the time in my reading life I’m looking for soul destroying but so often I DO find myself reaching towards those happy-making books that people would label as “fluff” or whatever.
FLUFF IS NOT A BAD THING. STOP MAKING PEOPLE FEEL BAD FOR LIKING THINGS THAT ARE HAPPYMAKING AND SWEET.
Sometimes we need that — we want hope, we want to swoon, we want to melt, we want to be happy. Life is intense enough. And I know where my friend is at in life right now and I’m glad she had something that could induce happiness and charm and that feeling of lightness in a world that can be heavy sometimes. I know *I* needed this lately.
So, anyways, off my soapbox. I gave my friend a list of books to read for fans of To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before.
So if you loved the endearing Lara Jean and her love life and want more delightful and charming YA romcoms — check these books out! They will be satisfy that feeling of “WHAT TO READ AFTER TO ALL THE BOYS??” feeling….because let’s be real that’s all I’ve been thinking about since the movie.
A Little Tip…
Below you’ll see Bookshop.org mentioned. Bookshop.org is a fantastic place to buy books online that supports local bookstores. If you are looking to shop small when it comes to your books, I personally buy my books from here (when I can’t shop in person) and highly recommend! Local bookstores are the heart of communities and Bookshop.org makes it SUPER easy to support them.
Books For Fans Of To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before
[Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links which means that if you click on a link and purchase something I’ve talked about or recommended, I’ll receive a very small percentage of the sale. Please see my disclosure policy for more info.
I Believe In A Thing Called Love by Maurene Goo
As soon as my friend asked for books to read after To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before I IMMEDIATELY sent her this recommendation.
I think Lara Jean and Desi would totally be friends if they ever met and they could talk about their lack of boyfriend experience, their romantic attempts in all their awkwardness and humiliation and messiness and how they both dream about those HEAs (LJ with romance novels, Desi with K-dramas).
I 100% think this is one of the most perfect books to read after To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before! Just trust me on this!!
Honestly, while you are at it, you should also read Maurene’s The Way You Make Me Feel and Since You Asked as they are also perfect light contemporary YAs!
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When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon
This book is one of the most fun romcom books to read for fans of To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before. It was absolutely charming and funny with endearing characters.
Think Lara Jean with a bit more attitude and sass — more along the lines of Lara Jean’s best friend Christine. Dimple and Rishi both have ideas for their future but their parents have other ideas which include making sure they both are attending the same summer program where Rishi is to woo an unsuspecting Dimple BUT DIMPLE IS NOT HERE FOR THIS.
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Happily Ever Afters by Elise Bryant
I think 100% that Tessa, the main character in this book, and Lara Jean would be friends — they are romantics at heart and absolutely the sweetest. Plus the love interest is a baker!
Tessa is a writer of romance but, when she is accepted to a prestigious writing opportunity she wanted so much, she suddenly loses the magic to write. Her bff, and only reader of her stories, suggests maybe she needs to find some real life love story inspiration to get through her block. Inspired by romance novels, she creates her master plan for her happily ever after. But as she gets closer to the happily ever after, she wonders if it’s even the one she truly wants.
You May Also Like: New YA Books By Black Authors To Read This Year
Check out some of these on audiobooks!
Especially when I first got into audiobooks, contemporary YA was my go-to as they were easy to follow on audio. My favorite way to listen to audiobooks is via LibroFM — the BEST audiobook alternative to Audible. Check out my review (and some of my favorite YA audiobook to get you started).
A Taste For Love by Jennifer Yen
If Lara Jean had you craving all the cookies, this one will also have you drooling with all the baking going on in this super sweet romcom that is a light and fun (loose) retelling of Pride and Prejudice perfect for To All The Boys lovers.
Liza and her mother don’t always see eye to eye — especially when it comes to her taste in boys — and her mother just wants to see her with a nice Asian boy.
Her mom, owner of a popular bakery, hosts an annual bake-off Liza is helping out at and this year her mom uses it as the perfect match-making opportunity: all the contestants are young Asian-American men handpicked by her mother. Worst yet: she even finds herself attracted to one of the mom-approved contestants.
My So Called Bollywood Life by Nisha Sharma
A sweet Bollywood romcom perfect for fans of To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before!
“Winnie Mehta was never really convinced that Raj was her soul mate, but their love was written in the stars. Literally, a pandit predicted Winnie would find the love of her life before her eighteenth birthday, and Raj meets all the qualifications. Which is why Winnie is shocked when she returns from her summer at film camp to find her boyfriend of three years hooking up with Jenny Dickens. As a self-proclaimed Bollywood expert, Winnie knows this is not how her perfect ending is scripted.
Then there’s Dev, a fellow film geek and one of the few people Winnie can count on. Dev is smart and charming, and he challenges Winnie to look beyond her horoscope and find someone she’d pick for herself. But does falling for Dev mean giving up on her prophecy and her chance to live happily ever after? To find her perfect ending, Winnie will need a little bit of help from fate, family, and of course, a Bollywood movie star.”
It’s Not Like It’s A Secret by Misa Suguira
If you loved To All The Boys + Simon vs The Homosapiens Agenda (known as Love, Simon on screen), check out this coming of age romance about two girls falling in love. This charming and bittersweet coming-of-age story featuring two girls of color falling in love is part To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before and part Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda.
“Sixteen-year-old Sana Kiyohara has too many secrets. Some are small, like how it bothers her when her friends don’t invite her to parties. Some are big, like the fact that her father may be having an affair.
And then there’s the one that she can barely even admit to herself–the one about how she might have a crush on her best friend. When Sana and her family move to California, she begins to wonder if it’s finally time for some honesty, especially after she meets Jamie Ramirez.
Jamie is beautiful and smart and unlike anyone Sana’s ever known. There are just a few problems: Sana’s new friends don’t trust Jamie’s crowd; Jamie’s friends clearly don’t want her around anyway; and a sweet guy named Caleb seems to have more-than-friendly feelings for her. Meanwhile, her dad’s affair is becoming too obvious to ignore.
Sana always figured that the hardest thing would be to tell people that she wants to date a girl, but as she quickly learns, telling the truth is easy…what comes after it, though, is a whole lot more complicated.”
Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde
I loved the Comic-Con type setting, the strong friendships and, guys, the romances were ADOOOOORABLE — a really cute f/f romance and the cutest best-friend-turned-more romance. A delightful YA reading experience perfect for people looking for sweet books with vibes similar To All The Boys I Loved Before. It tackles some important things while maintaining that romcom vibe.
Two friends finally get the chance to attend SupaCon together while both having to confront some tough things personally– like a very public breakup and personal life under scrutiny as a Youtube star and anxiety that makes attending something like SupaCon a feat in itself.
How To Keep A Boy From Kissing You by Tara Eglington
I read this in the throes of terrible morning sickness that pretty much kicked me down and it was exactly what I needed for some happymaking feelings. ALMOST DIED FROM THE ADORABLENESS. There is comfort in the sweet storyline and the predictability of how things will turn out as you wait for the main character to figure out what WE KNOW.
Sixteen year old Aurora has never been kissed and she intends for it to stay that way until she finds The One who is worthy of her first kiss — which means dodging kiss attempts on dates and focusing on the love lives of her friends. Until she gets the lead role in a play that requires her to kiss the male lead who happens to be her neighbor who she can’t stand….and she won’t let that happen so the urgency to find The One is on!
The Fill-In Boyfriend by Kasie West
Kasie West is a go-to for adorable and happymaking romances! You can’t go wrong with her books! I wanted to pick ALL of them but for the sake of this list I HAAAAD To pick The Fill-In Boyfriend because of the faux boyfriend aspect! But really you can’t go wrong with any Kasie West books!
“When Gia Montgomery’s boyfriend, Bradley, dumps her in the parking lot of her high school prom, she decides to do the unthinkable — convince the cute guy waiting to pick up his sister to pretend to be her boyfriend for the night. The task is simple: two hours, zero commitment, a few white lies.
The problem is that days after prom, she can’t stop thinking about her fill-in boyfriend. But can Gia turn her fake boyfriend into a real one without exposing her lie and possibly destroying her friendships and her newfound relationship?”
The Way To Game The Walk of Shame by Jenn P. Nguyen
One of the things I knew had to be on my list of books to read for books similar to To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before was this one because of that amazing faux romance aspect of the book! While Taylor and Lara Jean are TOTALLY different personality-wise, if you liked the fake relationship aspect of To All The Boys I recommend this one.
“Taylor Simmons is screwed. Things were hard enough when her dedication to her studies earned her the title of Ice Queen, but after she got drunk at a party and woke up next to bad boy surfer Evan McKinley, the entire school seems intent on tearing Taylor down with mockery and gossip. Desperate to salvage her reputation, Taylor persuades Evan to pretend they’re in a serious romantic relationship. After all, it’s better to be the girl who tames the wild surfer than just another notch on his surfboard.”
So there you have it! Hope this helps you in your search to find books to read if you loved To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before!
What books do you think are good reads similar to P.S. I Still Love You & To All The Boys ? I’d love to know because I am SO in the mood for more books like this fantastic series.
Do you love book to film adaptations? Check out this ultimate list of this year’s book to movie adaptations! Or check out, for more Jenny Han-like goodness, this list of books like The Summer I Turned Pretty (her other amazing series now adapted for tv!).
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Liz says
Have you read the other Jenny Han series, The Summer I Turned Pretty?
Jamie says
Yes! A long long time ago! That was a great series!
Emily @ Mixed Margins says
Thank you, this is EXACTLY what I needed. I’m so pleased with the movie adaptation. I watched it two days in a row…and will probably watch it again soon. I love feel-good fluffy stories 😀
Jamie says
Yay I’m so glad! And omg I’m with you! I’ve watched it twice already and I just really don’t want to watch anything else lol
Erica Hatch says
Aww what a great list!
Jamie says
Thank you! <3
April Books & Wine says
Now that ALMOST all reading is done on my iPad until the move (and library books too), I think I may have to finally read the Maurene Goo book I have from Netgalley. It just sounds soo good. LOVE Kasie West though!
I think I’d probably add something like Save The Date by Morgan Matson because it wasn’t SUPER serious. OH and Audrey Wait by Robin Benway — because it’s so light and fun. ALSO literally everything Jessica Brody has ever written.
chelsea jacobs says
ooh yay adding all of these to my list!
Sam@WLABB says
There was a TTT a few weeks ago, about mashing books together, and Alicia at a Kernel of Nonsense mashed TATBILB and IBiaTCL, and really, Lara Jean and Desi would be brilliant friends. I love seeing Howe to Keep a Boy From Kissing You, because it was so adorable. Bollywood, WDMR, any KWest were great for me, and definitely have the feel of TATBILB.
Torrie says
I just finished To All the Boys (the whole series) a couple weeks ago, and I was kind of surprised that I enjoyed them as much as I did (because I am sooooo not into the romance or romcom or chick lit genres AT ALL…in fact, I even did a blog post on 12 love stories that are for people who “don’t do romances” because that’s usually totally how I am). But! this series ended up being exactly what I needed postpartum, so it very well could be that one of these other titles might be more in my ballpark than I think. Thanks for sharing!
Gayathri says
I am gonna finish TATBILB this week and I will come back for this list back again. I am book marking it as well. Thanks. I have read only Dimple met Rishi of the list.
Lenny Mullican says
I completely agree that fluff isn’t a bad thing. Sometimes you just need a little feel good in your life. I’ll definitely be checking out I Believe In A Thing Called Love by Maurene Goo because I have a hangover after watching TATBILB.